Squaring Up: on working with a pro
Writer in Residence Steve Connolly continues his series of blogs on the writing process as he finalises the script for his forthcoming radio play, Square With The House
Image credit: Etienne Girardet
The second (and final?!) draft of ‘Square with the House’ has now been sent to Dialect for review.
Thanks to Dialect, I was given the opportunity to get feedback on the first draft from a real pro: Cheltenham-based stage director Kirstie Davis.
Kirstie and I met (over Zoom) for an enjoyable and productive discussion, from which I got some superb, constructive criticism. Kirstie was friendly and supportive, it was a pleasure to experience how she had engaged with the script and enjoyed it - nothing beats hearing someone describing how much they enjoyed something you’ve written!
Kirstie had many useful suggestions and pointed out various weak points where it needed work. Getting notes on a script can be a harrowing experience, but Kirstie was a real pro and it proved one of the most enjoyable and rewarding moments of the whole Resident writer process. I can’t thank Juliette enough for making it happen.
I also held an online rehearsal with the play’s cast, Katy Sorensen and Adrian MacPherson from Cirencester Theatre Network which generated more ideas and made plain some issues, mainly Katy and Adrian being younger than the characters as I had originally imagined them. So combined with Kirstie’s comments and suggestions, I had a lot of rewriting to do.
Recording
Now that the script is done, I plan to hold a final rehearsal towards the end of the week before recording at the Lake on Sunday morning. Recording outdoors will probably mean less scope for editing, as it’s more difficult to make changes when the ambient sound is so variable. The rehearsal should highlight any remaining areas that are too wordy and need cutting, something that’s not always obvious until you hear actors performing it.
We hope to record around - and where possible incorporate - any events and people at the lake on Sunday. And all being well, the final audio should be ready by the end of May.
Stephen Connolly is Dialect x Waterland writer in residence in January, May and September 2021. You can read more on his blog here.
